A Trip to the Carnival
by zippyfairy
Summary: Hitsugaya is dragged to the carnival by his lazy Lieutenant! What would Ichigo, Ikkaku, Renji, Matsumoto, and Yumichika do at a carnival? Well, I think it would go something like this...


Disclaimer: Yeah, we all know what these are for and no one really cares. But basically, I am as close to owning Bleach characters as Justin Bieber is to sounding like a boy.

By the way, a special thanks to one of my best friends Emily for giving me this idea! Love you Em!

I'm aware that Toushiro's personality is a little different. Sorry ^^;

"Matsumoto, you told me we were going to a relaxing place in the real world to _work_," I reminded my vice captain in exasperation. I could already see where this was going…

"But Captain," she explained a bit too innocently, "you've been working _all day_ and what better way to relax than to have some fun?"

I glanced up at the elevated sign with its large printed block letters that welcomed all guests to the carnival and sighed. "Is this how it's going to be every time?" I muttered to myself.

I glanced back at Matsumoto, prepared to drag her back to the Tenth Squad Barracks. _Crap_! She had turned on her big puppy eyes. I tore my gaze away, trying to think clearly – beyond the wall of persuasive innocence. It was a losing battle. _Damn_.

"Fine!" I conceded, disgusted with myself. "But you better be prepared to give me your reports by tomorrow!"

Matsumoto threw her arms around my small form, effectively pissing me off. I clawed at her willowy limbs before she finally released me. "You're the _best_, Captain! I'm glad you're okay with it because I also invited Renji, Ikkaku, and Yumichika!"

"Wait! Matsumoto- I'm not their captain! You better have-"

"Don't worry! Don't worry!" Matsumoto exclaimed gleefully. Wait, when did she change into summer clothes?

"Wait, seriously Matsumoto! Did you-"

"Ah! Is that Ichigo?" Matsumoto inquired, still extremely animated. She dashed off to check on her theory, leaving me standing in a daze at the entrance to the carnival.

I sincerely considered leaving Matsumoto to her business and returning to Soul Society, but then I remembered that Matsumoto was my responsibility and that if she had gotten permission from Captain Kuchiki as well as Captain Zaraki, I would be held responsible for any mischief. Groaning, I entered the park.

The sounds of laughter and music filled my head the moment I crossed the threshold into the fair. Lights flashed everywhere from various booths and games as well as cameras. I strode down each aisle of 'fun', my hands stuffed into the pockets I had thrust the tickets and money Matsumoto had shoved at me earlier.

As I walked, I speculated individuals – always on the lookout for trouble. Children baring toys or food ran around laughing, chasing each other. Couples cuddled and held hands. Families smiled and enjoyed various games and events.

I noticed Ichigo and Renji at a particular booth and, lacking anything better to do, decided to see what was happening. They were playing some sort of strength game that required them to hit a metal pad with a mallet and cause a small piece of metal to shoot up and hit a bell. It seemed simple enough. But even though I could feel both Ichigo and Renji applying their reiatsu to their swings, neither of them were hitting the bell.

After examining the contraption a couple more times, I figured it out. The game wasn't about strength at all, but technique. So I watched a couple more turns before finally striding up to the two unobservant shinigami.

"Toushiro?" Ichigo asked, shocked.

I gave him a sidelong glance. "That's Captain Hitsugaya." I held out my hand for the mallet and he handed it to me with a few words of advice.

"All you have to do is hit that thing as hard as you can," he explained obviously.

"Good luck, it's impossible," Renji said, his eyes burning. My mood soured slightly at the thought of how much money he must have wasted already.

I handed two dollars to the man running the booth before taking my stance. I examined the strength tester once more before being sure that I was correct.

I raised the large hammer and swung. For safety measurements, I applied a small amount of reiatsu as well just to add a small advantage…

_DIIIIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGG!_

Score. I turned and almost smirked at Ichigo and Renji who were both staring at me with their mouths agape.

The burly man who had taken my money was shocked as well. He came up to me and gestured to an array of prizes I could choose from. None of them were tasteful to me really so I glanced around myself until my eyes landed on a small girl staring wide eyed at a doll that was as large as she was. I strode to her and smiled. "How about you take that for me?"

She stared at me in shock. Then she jumped at the yellow doll with red cheeks and shrieked in delight. "Thank you!"

Ichigo and Renji were now discussing what they had done wrong and I walked away, leaving them to their speculation.

I walked past a building labeled 'House of Mirrors' and noticed the eleventh squad's fifth seat exiting – storming really – muttering something that sounded vaguely like, "Damn humans. Don't even understand the concept of a mirror. I _am _beautiful…"

Rolling my eyes, I kept walking and saw Ikkaku at a cross bow station. He had already accumulated a fairly ample amount of prizes.

Matsumoto was nowhere to be found, but without a doubt, she would be getting thrills at one of the enormous structures that were the sources of all the screaming.

Suddenly, my nose was assaulted by ten thousand different smells. Sweet caramel, buttery popcorn, sugary cotton candy, perfectly cooked hot dogs… they were making me hungry.

Then my eyes fell on a certain food stand. Few foods had become my preference, but I had definitely taken a liking to this icy delight. A snow cone. I stood in the relatively long line and finally ordered my flavored ice.

Elation filled me for the first time that night and I savored the treat. Unfortunately, I was interrupted by a certain annoying lieutenant.

"Captain!" Matsumoto flounced up to where I sat leisurely on a bench. She had an immense animal plush around her neck and she was slowly nursing a puff of pink cotton candy. "I've been looking for you! Are you having fun?"

Despite the cold delicacy, I wanted to make it clear to Matsumoto that her idea to skip out on work was a _bad _one. I set my mouth in a grimace and glared at her. "Are you quite finished with this foolishness?"

Matsumoto raised an eyebrow and smiled secretively. "I heard that you beat Renji and Ichigo at the test-your-strength booth."

I ran my hand through my messy white hair. "It was just an experiment."

"Sure it was," Matsumoto said, rolling her eyes. "If you're not having fun, then come with me! I'll show you a good time!"

Without my consent, she reached out and grabbed my hand, yanking me from my position on the bench and into a steady jog. Well, she was steady. I was stumbling behind her.

"Matsumoto-"

"Here we are Captain!"

Before us stood a simple booth. A commodious scale filled half the booth while the rest was left to empty space. A tall, lanky man gestured to us. "Ah, the young woman from before! Have you gotten your friend?" A sign beside him read, 'I'll guess your age within four years!'

I groaned and turned to Matsumoto, fuming. "There's _no way_ I'm doing this."

Matsumoto gave me the puppy dog eyes again, but I remembered to avert my gaze. There was no way it would work twice in one day. So I just repeated, "There is _no way_ I am participating in this."

Matsumoto huffed in annoyance. "Fine, well then, why don't you go on that with me?" She pointed to one of the tallest, most notable ride in the entire complex.

I sighed. "If I agree to go on that with you, will you come with me back to Soul Society?"

Matsumoto nodded, energized that I had finally agreed to something.

After leading me through the winding crowds and lights, Matsumoto and I arrived at the end of the line for the ride she had indicated. A sign at the end read, 'two hours from this point'.

"You're not really going to make me wait for this, are you?"

Matsumoto grabbed my arm possessively. "You promised, Captain!"

I sighed. She was right. Well, if all I had to do was wait through this nightmare, I would do it.

My gaze travelled back to the twists and sudden jerks in the metal thrill machine. Every passenger was screaming in terror. What kind of appeal did that have? "Matsumoto, how is this enjoyable?"

Matsumoto pondered my question. "I guess people like it because it's… stimulating?"

I sighed again.

We waited through the entire two hours. Matsumoto asked pointless questions to pass the time and we even played a game she called, 'I Spy' for a while.

We finally got to the front and at this point, I was expecting a pretty freaking good time. I was just about to pass through the gates when a man in a striped suit put his hand out to stop me. I fixed him with a cool gaze.

He didn't even look at me. Instead, his eyes were on Matsumoto. "Is this child yours?"

I was about to retort when Matsumoto slung her arm over my shoulders. "Of course! Don't we look alike?"

The man seemed confused for a moment before gesturing to a colored pole. "You must be this tall to ride the ride, Junior. I'm sorry, but you just can't go today. Maybe come back when you're older."

"_Matsumoto_!"


End file.
